Lensless spectacles



May 22.11.934. c. GU-mms l LENSLESS'SPECTAGLES me@ sept. z2. 1932 2 fsmiezyshgn 2 voooooocmcoo ,l cooooQocooQ ooooooo OOQOOOOOO'O OOCOOOO OOOO veneno-001 y INVENTOR Patented *Mar 1934 PATENT OFFICE? 1 1,959,915 neNsLEsss-enoraones lcarries c. 'Gu-ulm, Pittsburgh, P. 4Az'px'ilc'a-tion'Seplemnbex; '212, 111932, Serial No. 634,356

s claims. `(C41. yres-41) This invention' relates to 'spectacles and more particularly to--lensless spectacles.

One object of this invention is to provide a lensless spectacle which will increase the depth .5' of sharp focus .and permit the object being viewed to be moved forward or back-ward from the focal plane without blurring or imperfect focusing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a. lensle'ss spectacle which will reduce spherical. aberrations and 'other :objectionable factors in the eye refracting 'mechanisms or media.

v A.. further object of thisV invention is to provide a lensless spectacle which will reduce the -actvity of the focusing mechanism 'of the eye, prevent Aover stimulation of the 'retina and at. the

same time permit sharp, clear vision.

A vstill further object is to--piovide perforated discs for replacing the lensin' spectacles.

A still further object is to 'provide a. lensless spectacle having means for producing sharp,

Vclear' vision at both close and Vlong ranges.

A still further object of this' invention -i'sI to provide opaque discs for replacing-.the lens inspec- -tacles with discs having a'. seri-es of openings the-rein diminishing in size from the top to the bottom to .produce sharp, clear vision at any range.

These and other objects which will be here'-ll inafter inode 'apparent to those skilled i-n this particular art are' accomplisl'ied .by means oi' this @invent-ion, one embodiment of which is `described in the following specification and `illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a'. perspective view of a .pair of 'spectacles having .perforated-opaque discs'ins'tead o! lenses.; lthe openings being graduated, and a1'- rangod in the for-rn of rectangular-patterns;

Fig. 2 is a. View illustrating the effect on the eye-.-

of the wearer o( aV rectangula'rly perforated invention 'in which vthe opninvgsinthe 'opaque perforateddisc are staggered and a slot is prol vided -for normal` vision;

Fig. 5 illustrates .another modcation of my vinvention' in which multiple opaque, perforated ,50 pivot'ed together at the top .are us'edin placeoi' lenses, one of said discs' being adapted to :be stationarily mounted inthe frame of the spectacles;

Fia-s u1u-mates snappen-ance menswear-nge' in the disc when the movable disc is turned rela tive to the stationarily mounted disc;`

Fig. 7 is yan exploded view of the molcation shown in Fig. 5;.

Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the-'effect ori-the 6 vision of the wearer .of spacing staggered openings in thediscs too closetogether; l

Fig. 9 illustratesv the effect obtained `when the staggered perforationsare properly spaced;

Fig. y10 .illustratesfa-nother modiizcaton of my 65g vone is moved relative to the other. A

i It' .is a well known principle of physics that light passing through a small opening -oitransparent spot in an opaque surface'may, by virtue of its rectilinear propagation. be to form sharp@- ly defined images upon a suitably placed screen or the like. Also, i1 the opening in the opaque surface is 'placed in the foca-l emisor a lens,-the irnage formed by the lens will be sharpened or more .clearly defined. sin-ce ,the 'aberrations caused 80 by iinperiec-tlons in the-lens will be reduced. This' image, however, is less bright .than the image produced by the lens alone.' f f The distance of the screen. upon 4'which ap parent sharp focusing of the image is--ob.t,ained', 85 from the opaque surface, depends and varies ndirectly with the diameter 'of' the hole or open# ing 4in that surface, and therange in winch the screen ina-y be Inoved foi-.ward backward from' the lens kwithout blurring corresponds to the 9.0 ofthe opening in theopaquesurface and fthe distance that surface is trom the lens. That is to say, .an opaque surface positioned relatively close to theulcnsl and vl-iaving a very smaliopen'ng thereinl produ-ces a wider grange 'of non-blurring 95 focus than does anopaque surface spaced :fer-

. ther from, the lens and having a. larger opening therein. In the latter and also when the lens is'used by itself a sharper-.focns-isobtagined, and the range otnonfblurring foeus is Igreatly reduced. v Also, it lis a well known tact that when such an opaque surface .navi-ng a small opening or transparent spot Atherein .is heidbefore thc-pupil of the -eyasobstantial-ly the 'same .eects are 105 .noted as when it is held beforeanordinary lens;

and t-lie lvision of a person 'having-defective eyes' such as myopie. where' the focal .point ofthe -eye is in front of tine retina. or vliif'perin'et1"o1;iia. where the focus point of the 'image is behind 110 the retina, is greatly improved or sharpened -when looking through a small hole in an opaque sur- ''his is due tothe fact that the' focal point in both instances falls-within the range of non blurring focus produced byy the opening in the opaque surface. l

Likewise, blurringof the vision dueto aber rationjastig'matism, etc., is greatly reduced and in some cases. eliminated by looking 'through a small aperture.

At the present time. it is the common lli-astice to correct astigmatism, niyopia, hyperxnetropia, and other defects such as changes in the eye structure itself due to infirmities of old age and the like, by placing a lens before each leye of the person having impaired vision so that the images will be focused sharply upon the retina of the eye. In some instances, a single lens before each eye cannot fully rectify the condition of .the eye and it is necessary to use double or bi'focal lens to secure both reading` and dis-tance vision, or to .use a separate pair of spectacles for reading and another for distance. In either case, there is a zone o f dim vision between where the sharp vision for reading e'nds and the sharp vision for distance begins.

To overcome this imperfection. in the treat? ment of eyes with lenses, I have designed, what may be termed a lensless spectacle". That is, I have designed a spectacle in which `the lensare replaced with opaqueI discs having a series of perforations'therein through which the image is 'viewed by the eye. By looking through the openings, the range of noneblurring focus of the eye'is increased but' the brightness of the 'ima-ge is diminished'. Therefore, tosecure a disc suitable lto 'give wide visual field 'and a. wide range of sharp near and far vvision', land also to secure a bright image, I form a series are obtained by having `the 'openings in the spaced about four `rriillin'ieters apart.

As may be' readily inferred from the l:preceding discussion. the size of .the openings in 'the opaque discs, as well-,as the Ispacing thereof, is of 4the utmost importance in securing good vision. -If the opening is beyond a certain size, it ceases ,to causeen image to be formed on the retina,

beams within the pern'lssible range on'the cornea and lens of the eye, and if the opening is be- -low a certain size, it 4does not permit sufficient lightmto be'transmitted lfor clear vision. I havel found that with ordinary illumination and for minute vision, a sharp,l clear image is obtained by using openings of approximately 0.3 mm. in diameter, while for :long distance vision, th'e best results are obtainedl when openings approximately L5 rnm. in diameter are provided.

After the size and spacing of thc 4open-ings has been determined. the next problemis in regard to the arrangement or design of the openings. I

have found thatlthe bestvision is vobtained by forming the openings on the lines of a parallelo-v gram.v

The parallelogra'rn may be in .the form of a rectangle or any other desired form. When the openings are arrangedv in lines forming a rec-tangle good vision is obtained and there is no distor- 1 tions or irregularity in the image, and there is ap parently no break in a line carried through the images from adjacent openings either horizontal or vertical. When the lines of openings forming the parallelogram are not rectangular but are' since it does not su'fliciently conne the light Howment, there is a greater 'continuity ofthe images" being viewed than there is in the rectangular arrangement, which coi ifterbalances theA d isto'rtionl caused by the staggered ppearaneejothe ripen--rm ings. Due to the greater continuity, the-eye soon 40 of graduated and exactly spaced openings in the disc, the sifze of the openings diminishing from thetop to the bott-om, The largeropenings at the top of the disc admit more light than the smaller openings and therefore give brighter thewearer soon loses .consciousness of it.-

becoinesaccustomed to the slight ldistortionand g minute vision.

vision and are preferred for distance, while the holes at the ybottom thereof being smaller, shut- .out a portion of the light 'and are suitable for Hence, the nearer by merely lifting' his head slightly is able to adjust his range ofvision from distance to. very 'close reading or thealike, in' substantially the same 4marl- -ner as ,a person wearing. the ordinary "-bifocal" lens.v

Between the brightness of the image and the sharpness or definition of ou-tline'thereof, there is a .physiological'optimum that is a pointwhere. both the .outline and the brightness of the im age are best, and I- have 'found that the eye under the subconscious will of the `wearer quickly learns 4to seek and find the optimum size holes lin the discs. l It is highly important that the openings `in the opaque discs be .properly spaced apart'. to -seeure the proper vision. If the'openings are spaced closer than the diameter of thev pup-il of the eye, and an object is vieivedata distance less than 'the eye isl able to adjust for, either two or more images will be seen, or the images will appear to overlap 'and thus. appear blurred. If the distance between the openings. too great. a relatively coarser.l shadow of the' network will fall upon 'the retina of the eye and the con tinuity of the image comprising the visual field will, consequently, be broken or `restricted;l I have found that 'on the average, .the best. results For dilerent purposes or cases, I'have .fo -nd 120 i that different'forms or coxnbin-ationsof vthe ab' rangement of the openings in the (dise may be beneficial. A slot may he formed in the center of the disc if desired, or several slots Aor holes.

may be provided".

Such an opening oropenings may be formed on either the horizontal or vertical axis -of the or otherwise placed-and provide a space. or spaces through which the wearer may-'look -ior distant vision. When a. slotis .arranged on .the vertical axis of vthe disc, I prefer to form .perforations on each side thereof, .of such size that sharp, clear.

openingsr- .4

If the slot is Ato be'fozned on 'the horizontal axis of the dil-sc, I pref-er `to have the openings above the slot, of slightly larger-diametertlianthe openings below the slot. Such-an-arran-gement per.- mits the wearer vto have the normal use of his eye when looking tni'hgh 'the slot', to secure long distance vision by. tilting his head forward so that his eye is directed to look. through :the larger ropenings above the slot'and to .obtain nearer close vision by tilting liis'head backg-so that his eye looks .through the lsrxaller-jonenings in the bottom of the disc.

hear vision is obtained when thewearerturns his head or eyes slightly and looksthrough the 1&0

.Another feature of my inventioresides in re# k y may be e'thrpivoted together atthe top or bottom, have a vseries o! 'spaced'openin'gs so .formed therein that when in one position, the openings in one plate register with the vopenings in the other` plateand when one of the plates is shifted".or

size may be quickly regulated for all con'di-t'ions.

and purposes.` When the. multiple plates are .usede one of them is s'tationarily securedto the rim of the spectacles, and the other has an arm attached thereto which extends slightly beyond the rim and permits the wearer to readily adjust the size of the openings for any typeoI desired vision. For exampleffor great or far distance, the maximum'opening is desirable sin'ce .it transmits rnore light to the eye,\and the wearer may readily secure this maximum sizeof the opening by moving the arm on the 4rim of the spectacle so that the openings inthe two discs are registering. To .secure smaller openings for near vision or t secure the optimum size opening, if the maximum size `opening is too large, the wearer merely moves the arm in the' proper direction and the desired size o fopening is almost instantly obtained.

The openings in each'o the multiple plates may be graduated in st :ewith the larger openings at the top and the smaller below, and if pivoted at their lower edge-s, any adjustment of the movable plate 'causes the larger openings to be partially closed so that the ventire disc is adjusted f or close, sharp vision. -Also, a combination of uniform large openings may be Aprovided in both discs with one disc provided with another set of openings Vgraduatedin-'size :rodeo-spacedV that after a closure of the openings controlled by the large openings in the two discs, the graduated vopenings in the disc provided with t-wo sets of openings are uncovered.

When one of the plates is moved relative to the4 'other to partially close the'` size of the apertures through which the eye of the wearer is looking, it

is apparent that this moving causes .the apertures to become elliptical in' shape, however, I have found that this is not a serious objection. to the multiple plate. Completely .uncoverings the apertures in one .plate of course provides .means for maintaining circular openings.

From the forgoing, it is apparent that with' multiple 'sets of dises or plates, any range o vision is readily obtainable. The discs with multiple sets of holes may be employed and the mounting may be such that sliding or straight-line movement oradjus'trnent is provided. I

With .any modification .of my invention, satisfactory vision issecured at all ranges, 'the graduated openings, the slot and "small openings, and -the multi-ple disc all give substantially the same -results as the ordinary "bifocal le-ns Referring to the drawings in detail, inFig. 1, I have illustrated a pair 'of spectacles 10 having a. 'frame 11 and tern-ples ,12. Mounted in the frame 1l are opaque dises 13 having a series of openings Mtherein at right angles one tothe other, .and Aof .such size that an image will be .formed upon the retina of the eye of the we a-re'r. I have found that. the best results are obtained when the size of the openings in the discs do .not

exceed the .diameter of the pupilof Itho-eye and largeenough to transmit a sudicient amount of light for adequate vision. If the openings are too large', they will not cause. .an image to be form-ed .on the retina, end ittoo small, will not adna't enough light to adequately view. the image.

nosas-'1s 'v 7 3..

To secure goed vis-ionv4 .these openings 11i-must4 not only. within-certain limits 'in size, but must also beso apart that the appearance of l the."disc .and openings' to the eye fof the wearer is much llike .that of 'a honeycomb (Fig. 3).4 When the openings are spaced 'too far apart, a large port-ion of the retina is unilluminated. large spaces of the'dise are. seen by the-wearer and-.poor vision is the result. If the openings are-spaced too close together 4thefresult is'n the wearer being conscious of two images of the object orv the i'm.- ages overlap and, as illustrated in` Fig. 2, the disc itselfpresents a. .blurred appearance to the 'eye of the wearer.

ln order to secure good vision for all ranges of vision, the openings. 14' are graduated and de. crease in size from the .top to the bottom of the disc. The large openings at the top of 4the disc .admit more light consequently giving, a brighter image andare used fordstance-while the smaller' openings maltev the image 'sharper .in outline and. are to be used for minute or close vision. 4 Hence, it ls apparent that the 'wearer -by merely tilting his head slightlyhas goed vision for all distances, and the discs give-substantially the same' results as a .'bifoca1"lens.

'Y To'enhance visual brightness, shading devices 1 5 may be secured t'o each of the temples 12 to re,- d'uce the amount of direct light between the eye and the The' shading devices diffuse the light and so reduce the reflection into the eye thatv substantially all light transmitted thereto vcornes through the opening in the disc'.

In Fig. .4 I have .illustrated a. modification of my invention in which the opaque disc i6 having a. series of graduated openings 17 .and a slot 18 arranged on the horizontal axis of the disc -is used to replace the ordinary ground lens used in spectacles. 'Rae disc 16 `-is mounted lin a-frame 19, a portion o f which is shown. The openings what may he termed amultiple perfo-'rated f one of which is stationary and the .other movable sharp image will be formedre'gardless of the distance of the object `from the eye. In Figs,` 5,.

6,'.and 7, I have Villustrated a multiple disc made in. accordance with 'my invention 'and comprising an lopaque disc20 lia-ving .a series of openings 21 therein all of whichare 'of substantially the same size. .and an opaque .disc '22 plv.-

oted to the disc 20 and having La series of spaced openings 23th? 2in o'subst-mzt'ially .the same as the 'openings in .the disc 20. The open-ings -21 and 23 in each of the discs 20 fand 2 2, `:respectively, may be r1-ranged in the form of a ret:-- tangle or lthey may staggered as shown, and

are so spaced that 'to the eye-of `the mear-ir, the

disc .appears as a honeycomb (F'g. 9).

The 'disc 20 is 'statnaly mounted in 'a frame 24 representing one -side of .the frame of e: :pair

ofspecta-cles. To permit the dse22 to be readily tutu-ed vrabout its pivot-to change the size of the 'openings through which the eye may be directed,

. '125 lrelative thereto to vary the size of the openingsthrough which the object is viewed so thata clear,

an arm 25- is for-mcd integral with the disc 22 'whchfextendsnowr the frame 24'fin' posit-ion .to be Y readily :touched by the .person wearing the specrfv-59.915

ings mer-ern' or ems-:tammy one Same armee; and arranged in horizoniei rows and-spaced apart' adisience'substantiaily equai to the pupil o! the eye, and s. movable member having a series o! openings-therein of V'che seme size and'anengement asthe openin'gs'in seid stationery member, the top of said move-bie member being pivoted'to the top o! said statioifiaxy member whereby it an' be tamed in one direction to cause the openings in both members tmrgister and turned' in 'the opposite -directioi to partially eiosethe openings in the lower part of the, stationary member.

6.-A device for perfecting impaired vision. com 'prising muitipie opaque discs pivobed together at the. bottoms thereof, each disc having its entire surface provided with '9.- series of graduated circular openings-th'erein decresng in size from substantiaiiy'l mm. at the top -bo substantially .3 mm.' at the bottom :md spaced substantially 4;

'mmrparm one o t said discs being tumebie 'reis'- iii-ve to thev other to partially close 'the largerl .prising an opaque disc having the entire surface provided with a. series of circular 4openings decreasing n-.sze from the top to the bottom -thereof from approxmateiy 1-.5 at; thetiop4 ,to approximately ',3 at the bottom.

' cH-,mms C. 

